Jackie Curtis

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Jackie Curtis
Curtis Backstage at SNAFU in 1980 by Gary LeGault
Born(1947-02-19)February 19, 1947
New York City, US
DiedMay 15, 1985(1985-05-15) (aged 38)
New York City, US
Resting placeRose Hills Memorial Park, Putnam Valley, New York
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, singer, Warhol Superstar
RelativesSlugger Ann (grandmother)

Jackie Curtis (February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985) was an American actor, writer, singer, and Warhol superstar.

Early life and career

Jackie Curtis was born John Curtis Holder Jr. in

glitter rock or glam rock
movement of the 1970s.

Playhouse of the Ridiculous, a resident company at La MaMa. Curtis's plays included Glamour, Glory and Gold, which also starred Darling, Melba LaRose, Jr., and Robert De Niro in his first appearance on stage, playing several roles; Vain Victory, with Darling and Mario Montez; Amerika Cleopatra featuring Harvey Fierstein; Femme Fatale, with Patti Smith, Jayne County and Penny Arcade; and Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit with Ruby Lynn Reyner and Holly Woodlawn. Curtis's final play Champagne ran at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club January 3–27, 1985 and featured George Abagnalo as the male lead.[4]

While writing plays, Curtis continued to act and reprised the role as

Ptolemy II in a 1966 production of Miss Nefertiti Regrets at La MaMa.[5] In 1969, Curtis performed with the Playhouse of the Ridiculous in Tom Murrin's Cock-Strong alongside Penny Arcade, Anthony Ingrassia, and others. Music for the production was written by Ralph Czitrom and performed by the Silver Apples.[6] Curtis wrote Vain Victory and co-directed a production of the play at La MaMa in 1971,[7] and directed and performed in Nick Markovich's I Died Yesterday at La MaMa in 1983.[8]

Andy Warhol and director Paul Morrissey cast Curtis and Darling in Flesh (1968) and, with the addition of Holly Woodlawn, in Women in Revolt (1971), a comedic spoof of the women's liberation movement.

Curtis was also a singer and poet. In 1974, Curtis and Woodlawn appeared in Cabaret in the Sky at the

The Poets' Encyclopedia
. At eight pages long, it was the longest poem in the book.

Jackie Curtis made two more movies during the 1980s.

Death

Curtis had a drug addiction, and died from a heroin overdose in 1985.[9][10][11]

In popular culture

  • Curtis is named in Lou Reed's 1972 song "Walk on the Wild Side" which was about the 'superstars' Reed knew from Warhol's Factory. The verse speaks of her drug addiction and fascination with James Dean: "Jackie is just speeding away / Thought she was James Dean for a day / Then I guess she had to crash / Valium would have helped that bash".[12]
  • In 2004, a documentary Superstar in a Housedress exposed some little-known facts about Curtis to a wider public. Curtis's influence on a number of people, including friends and associates such as Holly Woodlawn, Joe Dallesandro, and Penny Arcade, and observers such as David Bowie, are noted in the film. Jayne County writes of Curtis as being "...the biggest influence on me at this time."[13]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1968 Flesh Jackie
1971 W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism Herself
1971 Women in Revolt Jackie
1971 An American Family Herself 1 episode
1973 The Corner Bar Herself 1 episode
1980 Underground U.S.A. Roommate
1983 Burroughs Nurse
2002 The Cockettes Herself archival footage
2004 Superstar in a Housedress Herself archival footage
2010 Beautiful Darling Herself archival footage

Plays (as playwright)

  • Glamour, Glory and Gold (1967)
  • Lucky Wonderful
  • Amerika Cleopatra (1968)
  • Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit (1970)
  • Femme Fatale
  • Vain Victory: Vicissitudes of the Damned (1971)
  • The Trojan Women (1972)
  • Tyrone X (1979)
  • I Died Yesterday (1983) (play written by Nick Markovich with additional dialogue by Curtis)
  • Champagne (1985)

References

  1. ^ Interviews in Superstar in a Housedress Accessed 4/4/2015.
  2. ^ About Timothy Holder Accessed 4/4/2015.
  3. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Miss Nefertiti Regrets (1965)". Accessed April 9, 2018.
  4. ProQuest 1438563882
    .
  5. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Miss Nefertiti Regrets (1966a)". Accessed April 9, 2018.
  6. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Cock-Strong (1969)". Accessed April 9, 2018.
  7. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Vain Victory, The Vicissitudes of the Damned (1971)". Accessed April 9, 2018.
  8. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: I Died Yesterday (1983)". Accessed April 9, 2018.
  9. ^ Holden, Stephen (May 5, 2004). "FILM REVIEW; Always the Lady, Even When He Needed a Shave". The New York Times. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  10. ^ ABBOTT, ALYSIA (August 1, 2017). "Living with Cookie". The Recollectors. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  11. ^ "Jackie Curtis, 38, Performer And Writer for Warhol Films". The New York Times. May 17, 1985.
  12. ^ Hann, Michael. "Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side: what became of Candy, Little Joe and co?". The Guardian. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  13. ISBN 1-85242-338-2
    .

External links

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